Maximum "Finesse" Draw Challenge Shots

[Patrick Johnson]

On straight draw shots you can hit the CB either higher and harder or lower and softer to get the same draw distance.

But cut shots have another variable: draw angle, and high and hard doesn't produce the same draw angle as low and soft.

Hitting harder makes the CB travel farther but at a wider angle. To get a steeper draw angle you hit softer or lower or both. To get the steepest draw angle you hit as low and as softly as you can - just hard enough to get position.

These "Finesse" Draw Challenge Shots (mentioned recently by Mike Page) test your ability to hit as low as possible and accurately judge the minimum speed needed to get the CB to the target.

Finesse Draw Challenge Shot #1 (Measure your improvement.)

CueTable Help

Finesse Draw Challenge Shot #2 (Simpicity itself.)

CueTable Help

Anybody brave enough to post how well they do with these? With what conditions?

pj
chgo

 

[Patrick Johnson]

On straight draw shots you can hit the CB either higher and harder or lower and softer to get the same draw distance.

But cut shots have another variable: draw angle, and high and hard doesn't produce the same draw angle as low and soft.

Hitting harder makes the CB travel farther but at a wider angle. To get a steeper draw angle you hit softer or lower or both. To get the steepest draw angle you hit as low and as softly as you can - just hard enough to get position.

These "Finesse" Draw Challenge Shots (mentioned recently by Mike Page) test your ability to hit as low as possible and accurately judge the minimum speed needed to get the CB to the target.

Finesse Draw Challenge Shot #1 (Measure your improvement.)

CueTable Help

Finesse Draw Challenge Shot #2 (Simpicity itself.)

CueTable Help

Anybody brave enough to post how well they do with these? With what conditions?

pj
chgo

OK, OK, I'll go first. The shots above are my best of 15 (each) just before posting the tests. My table is a 9-foot Diamond Pro with Simonis 860 that rolls OK but slides slow. A table with more slippery cloth should do better.

pj
chgo

 

[Neil]

..............

 

[brandoncook26]

In 20 attempts, the best I did on the first was to the diamond closest to the corner pocket. My average was just inside the center diamond. I was using low right and the spin was and pulling the CB in. I did not try the second shot yet.

Table is 9' Diamond Pro w/ Simonis 860. Balls are pretty dirty right now and the cloth is filthy.

 

[Burns]

on the first shot i can get 3 inches inside the middle diamond, and the second shot with a regular stroke the best I got wasboth balls finishing on the rail, unless I cheated and used a downward masse stroke and thenI could do it so the object ball only moved about 3 feet and the cueball stopped about a foot from the rail after rebounding off of it.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I tried it just now on my bar table with heavy cloth. The second one I couldn't draw to the rail without the ob hitting it also.

CueTable Help

Thanks, Neil. Is your "heavy cloth" nappy? That affects your results on shot #2 and that plus the table's shorter size affects your results on shot #1.

Were you consistent? I was pretty erratic.

pj
chgo

 

[Patrick Johnson]

on the first shot i can get 3 inches inside the middle diamond, and the second shot with a regular stroke the best I got wasboth balls finishing on the rail, unless I cheated and used a downward masse stroke and thenI could do it so the object ball only moved about 3 feet and the cueball stopped about a foot from the rail after rebounding off of it.

That sounds like my experience, except I got a coupla exceptional shots for my best.

pj
chgo

 

[Patrick Johnson]

In 20 attempts, the best I did on the first was to the diamond closest to the corner pocket.

Wow. I didn't expect anybody to get that close. Nice going.

My average was just inside the center diamond. I was using low right and the spin was and pulling the CB in. I did not try the second shot yet.

Table is 9' Diamond Pro w/ Simonis 860. Balls are pretty dirty right now and the cloth is filthy.

I thought dirty cloth would make these harder. Pretty impressive.

pj
chgo

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Here's how I would rank these

CueTable Help

pj
chgo

 

[Neil]

..............

 

[Tennesseejoe]

I guess I'll be the first to answer for the stroke challenged:
Shot #1 My best was the middle diamond and I did it once on the first shot but could not duplicate it.
Shot#2 Cue ball and object ball came back to the rail.

My table is a Brunswick Saratoga (turn of the century), new Dual Density lively rails and Simonis 860 cloth one year old.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

My table is a Brunswick Saratoga (turn of the century)

9' or 8'? A shorter table is harder for both these tests.

new Dual Density lively rails and Simonis 860 cloth one year old.

Those lively rails won't help for Shot #2.

pj
chgo

 

[Tennesseejoe]

9' or 8'? A shorter table is harder for both these tests.



Those lively rails won't help for Shot #2.

pj
chgo

9 foot table---now I feel even worse.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

9 foot table---

So that means it's the rails. :thumbup:

pj
chgo

 

[Burns]

went and tried these again today, and had better results. on the first shot I can get it about 2 inches from the diamond closest to the pocket pretty much everytime. on the second shot I can usually keep the object ball at the other end of the table rebounding about a foot and a half off the rail on average. I played each shot about 10 times yesterday, and about 15 times today.